[ 55 ] Final Exam

Vae had explained that the Big Five academies of Lorran were Sapphire Spire, Vanguard Academy for Battlemages, Umbra Arcanium, The Veiled Eye, and Mount Aegis Citadel.

There was no easy way to pick from the big five, and any mage with half a mind would happily accept a spot from any of them.

The Sapphire Spire was a balanced academy with a strong research facility based in a crystal blue tower that climbed thirty stories into the clouds above Lorran.

Vanguard Academy for Battlemages was exactly what it sounded like. It specialized in combat mages, and while it was a favorite of those with Martial Cores, it was much more than that. Vanguard Academy styled itself as an academy for any mage who saw themselves at the forefront of a battle. They occupied an impressive keep within Lorran, which included training grounds and barracks.

Umbra Arcanium invited all kinds of mages but specialized in Divine, producing the greatest mage surgeons and healers in Lyssia. Its grounds resembled a gothic church, but instead of prayer halls, it had libraries filled with magical tomes.

The Veiled Eye was home to the greatest Astral mages. The large school grounds spread out beneath a fifteen-story clocktower bound by countless glyphs and said to hold all kinds of magical properties.

Finally, Mount Aegis Citadel was a prestigious mage academy built within a walled city of its own on Mount Aegis, the second tallest mountain surrounding Lorran, which sat opposite Mount Kargil—the former home of the great archdemon that had once inhabited the land, and now the home of the Archmage of Lyssia and the location of their tower.

Usually at the top of the academy leaderboard, many considered Mount Aegis the greatest of the academies in Lorran. And while it was more of a generalist store, it was famed for its Arcane casters.

Vae had gone over the details in depth, but those had been the major points. The problem was, while all of them were great academies, Kal didn't have a normal core, and therefore, he didn't have a normal affinity. Sapphire Spire and Mount Aegis seemed like the only suitable choices if he stayed in Lorran, but he wanted to know if there were potentially any decent academies that sounded more flexible. Ones that might suit someone like himself.

After hearing Vae’s explanation, Kal probed the noble boy about top academies outside of Lorran. 

He already knew about the demon hunters and figured there would have to be other high-quality academies throughout Lyssia. However, it would be hard to beat living in Lorran and having access to the magic it provided.

Besides the Demon Hunter Academy, two others in Lyssia were considered top-tier.

Reylight Mechanism, an academy of glyph writers, crafters, and golem masters. The academy was located deep in the Southern mountains, nestled within the bowls of a mountain itself beside Lyssia's only known mithril vein.

The other was Xeno Exodus. Probably the most mysterious of all the academies, it was known for taking in the best mages from the minor races within Lyssia, although humans did occasionally join.

Since the vast majority of Lyssia's population was human, including almost all of its nobility and royal family, this placed Xeno Exodus in a strange position. But since it produced top-quality mages and was loyal to the crown, it was given all the same rights as the other top academies.

Located in the west of the country, Xeno Exodus was in the city of Tovika, a border city on the Lyssian side of the Great Silverstone Bridge that expanded across the great scar connecting Tovka to Dunrune, the shining capital of the Cyclopean Empire.

Kal was immediately intrigued, hanging on Vae’s every word. When Kal promised to himself that he wanted to make the most of this second chance at life, a large part of it had been fueled by wanderlust to explore and experience a foreign world of magic. And Xeno Exodus seemed as good a place as any to do that.

More importantly, while Kal was human, his core absolutely wasn't. Would having a wide variety of students and teachers with different core types result in an academy more suited to him? He didn't expect them to have any students with demonic cores, of course, but it seemed likely that they had a more flexible approach to affinities and teaching magic.

Since the rest of the academies were focused on training humans, it seemed that they would take a more narrow-minded approach. 

Kal realized there was another pro. Xeno Exodus was unlike to have many nobles. He had thought rubbing shoulders with nobles would be a good way to gain access to resources, but after rivaling so many during the exam, he had to admit he would rather avoid them for now.

I still have to finish the final exam… nothing is set in stone yet, Kal thought, leaning back on his chair in the inn’s tavern.

“Well, that’s about it,” Vae said. “You should be able to make an informed decision with those details.”

“Thanks, Vae,” Kal said. He had read about the academies in Daedrik’s library, but it wasn’t a topic he had a lot of information on. Perhaps because he wasn’t a professor of a top academy himself, Kal mused.

Once they completed the final exam, they would all receive their examination scores, and have a decent idea whether or not they were going to get a spot in a top tier academy, but the actual offers wouldn't be sent until a month later.

Knowing he couldn't do anything about the situation, Kal pushed the thoughts away. Information was great, but he didn't want to get his hopes up before he actually knew which academies had offered. Not only that, but if Arix and Ellie got an offer to another top-tier academy, he knew he would follow them if he could.

There was also the thought lingering at the back of his mind that neither Arix or Ellie would get a good offer, and he wasn’t about to abandon them. But Kal didn’t want to entertain that thought, at least not yet.

Pulling a bone from his mouth, Kal gulped down the last of his stew and sighed with satisfaction. 

“You really like that stuff, don’t you?” Vae eyed the empty bowl.

“It’s good.”

“Steak is better,” Vae groaned. “Shall we?” he tilted his head to leave.

“Yep, I think I know everything there is to know,” Kal said. Unfortunately, the knowledge only made him more anxious for the next day.

Making their way back to their barn accommodation, Vae took a vial from his pocket and a brush, drawing Kal’s glued attention.

“Something caught your eye?” Vae questioned as he moved to sit by a bucket.

“What are you cleaning your teeth with?”

“Oh, right. I forgot that peasants don’t use proper mouth soap. This particular product comes from a popular Lorranian alchemist. It’s not cheap, though. A bottle will put you back around two or three silvers.”

2 or 3 silvers for freaking toothpaste? That’s insanity!

“Here, you take it,” Vae said, offering up the half-empty bottle. “I’ll have my father buy me a new one after the exam.”

“Are you sure?” Kal said, hesitantly taking the bottle.

“It’s fine. We might not be that rich by noble standards, but we can certainly afford another bottle of mouth soap.”

“Thank you,” Kal said. However, it dawned on him that he probably wouldn’t be able to use it as liberally as he wanted to, knowing he couldn’t afford a replacement. The cheap grounded herbs would have to be used for daily use, and he could save the expensive stuff for special occasions. 

“There you two are,” Ellie said as she creaked the barn door open, returning from outside with Arix in tow.

“Where have you two been?” Kal said.

“Walking,” Ellie said, dropping herself onto a stack of straw. “This is going to be my sixth attempt at sleeping. Argh! I just want tomorrow to be over. I can’t take this anymore.”

“Yeah, me too,” Arix said, rubbing at his eyes.

“I did manage to sort us out a proper breakfast,” Ellie said as she leaned back into her bed of straw. “Figured we needed to be properly fed for the final exam.”

“Oh?” Kal’s brow curled.

“Yeah, stew and porridge are okay. But we wanted something special. Anyway, Vae offered to pay, so we went and got some fresh bread, bacon, eggs, sausage, and tomatoes. We just dropped them off with the tavern lady. She’ll have something waiting for us… if we can ever manage to get some freaking sleep!”

“She reckons she can cook a great fry up,” Arix added, his droopy eyes threatening to shut before he finished his sentence.

“Thanks, everyone. I mean it,” Kal said and took his own bed. “I hope we get the results we want.”

***

Stomachs stuffed, Team Ebenshire waddled down the street toward the podium where the government mages were preparing to hold the final exam.

By the time they arrived, the street was already filled, albeit with fewer hopeful mages than before. 

Kal was fairly certain there were still more people standing around than had passed the second exam. Either some of them were hopeful they would be given a second chance, or were ready to accept whatever job the government offered them. That said, it was clear many failing mages had decided to beat the rush and head home early.

“Quiet now,” the bearded clerk boomed as he stepped onto the stage, and glyphs lit up across a horn that dangled from his neck. “I congratulate everyone who has made it here to this final exam, even if you do fail to receive the academy spot you want, or even altogether. This year’s exam hasn’t been easy, and it is a testimony to your endurance that you are still here, so bravo and give yourselves a clap.”

Applauses echoed through the crowd.

“Behind me, we have the local government office. This will be the location of your final exam. We shall call you by name and interview each of you separately. After you have completed your interview, you shall be led to wait in the office courtyards, which you’ll be led to by our mages. We have taken this precaution to keep you from talking to one another about the exam, so please do not try to circumvent our rules. Like with the Mage Hunt, breaking our rules will lead to disqualification, and if disqualified, you will have to wait until the next exam period if you wish to attempt the exam again.”

The crowd was less excited about this news. Obviously, Ellie and Arix weren’t the only people leaning on their comrades for support. 

The clerk’s speech brought Kal’s thoughts back to Caesil and the hopeless nobles he led. Without his help, he doubted they would have even passed the exam. Even with it, it seemed unlikely they would earn even a halfway decent academy spot, but then again, their family connections would likely pull them through.

“That is all for now,” the mage clerk continued. “Please remain nearby as your names could be called at any moment.”

“Looks like this is it,” Vae said.

“We’ll be fine,” Ellie nodded.

“Yeah, we got this,” Kal agreed, looking up at the large stone building cramped into the street’s corner.